Language Exchange User Posts

Anyone interested in learning a new foreign language will find studying Chinese birth year signs and the Chinese characters alphabet a fascinating adventure. The Chinese language is thousands of years old and carries in it much tradition and history. Learning not only to understand Chinese birth year signs but to also be able to write the Chinese characters alphabet is a greatly useful and valuable skill, not to mention an incredibly enjoyable past time.

Chinese birth year signs and Chinese characters of the alphabet can seem complicated and confusing to the outsider who has never studied them, and for this reason it is advisable to go to a teacher when it comes to learning these symbols. The teacher should preferably be from China (from the specific part of the specific dialect that you want to learn), or they can be someone who has lived there and learned there. Depending on where you are, finding a foreign language expert who is a Chinese language teacher can be done fairly easily.

Studying in this case can involve learning the Chinese birth year signs using both the Chinese characters alphabet and the words at the same time. This can be done via the internet if you can find both Chinese birth year signs and the Chinese characters alphabet, and can also be learned from going to video sites such as YouTube and learning from the professionals that post there. Much can be learned without cost, but by far the furthest you will get will be learning with a teacher or trained professional in person, as the hands on experience that they give you will aid you greatly in moving forward. Learning Chinese birth year signs and the Chinese characters alphabet can be fun and enjoyable, and can be done in the comfort of your home or even a coffee shop or other common location.

Anyone who wants to memorize the Chinese birth year signs and learn the Chinese characters alphabet can if they are willing to put in the time and effort, and in some cases finances towards it. This can be an enjoyable and very practical skill as you hone and garner it. Learn Chinese birth year signs here and the Chinese characters alphabet here.


Photo Credit: Janet Hudson

Being a Turkish teacher is certainly a unique profession, and if it is your career of choice you may have to be patient as you search for the opportunity that is best for you, but that doesn’t mean that the opportunity won’t arise! Get yourself out there and do all that you can to achieve your goal of becoming a Turkish instructor. The jobs won’t come your way unless you put in effort to get your name out there.

Though not as commonly studied as other European languages, with over 65 million native speakers it is a valuable language to know and learn, and you’ll find that there are students who feel the same way.

The first job as a Turkish teacher is helping your student understand that this language is quite different from their native tongue. By building a better understanding of how the Turkish language functions, you will be providing a springboard for your student to jump off of. Foundational knowledge is an essential part of learning, so be sure to include that in your teaching. The better a foundation you can help your student lay for him or herself, the quicker they will progress. In your career as a Turkish teacher you probably know, or have learned, that you cannot teach this language the same way that English is taught, because of its unique sentence structure and other distinguishing characteristics.

A good Turkish teacher will be able to bring the learner into the culture while providing them with a better understanding of the language, as well as help them become proficient in communication. Your students will likely find the pronunciation challenging at first. Do not be too demanding because, in time, and with plenty of practice, they will learn to pronounce the words properly.

Keep your classes challenging, but not too rigorous. Your students want to feel as though they are progressing. Always stay abreast of the latest teaching methods, and incorporate the best ones into your teaching style. You want to be the best Turkish teacher out there, so invest the time and you will reap the rewards.

Talk to your local schools, colleges, and language centers for teaching opportunities near you, and post your information on Craiglist or local classifieds so that interested students have the opportunity to come to you. You also have the opportunity to make use of online teaching through video chat. Tutoring sites like WyzAnt or TutorHunt allow you to post your qualifications on a profile so that students can learn from you in person or online, and LRNGO does this as well as offers you opportunities in teaching online classrooms. These types of sites often charge commission, but allow you to easily connect with interested pupils.

If you aim to be a Turkish teacher, then do it! Get your name out there, put together a strong résumé, and be friendly!


Photo Credit: Bryce Edwards

Have you ever heard of Bengali? Most English Speakers have not. It is actually more widely spoken than some other languages that you likely know, including both French and Portuguese. Bengali is the language native to Bangladesh, a shockingly beautiful coastal country surrounded on three sides by India. Want to visit the homeland of the Bengal Tiger and the Saltwater Crocodile? Here are a few resources I recommend to learn the basics of the language.

• https://www.youtube.com/user/talkingbees – this is just one of the many YouTube channel options available. Talkingbees does a good job of introducing basic grammar concepts and vocabulary.


• https://tangleofwires.wordpress.com/learning-bengali/- a great blog that can connect you to a variety of different resources. I would highly recommend the phrasebook that the blog mentions. Here is the same blog’s review of that book: https://tangleofwires.wordpress.com/2011/06/28/bengali-bangla-dictionary-phrasebook-review-hanne-ruth-thompson/.


• https://www.mybengaliresources.com/index.php/resources- Tons of activities, printable exercises, and more. Better yet, all of the resources are clearly organized into a variety of different topic categories.


• https://www.everydaylanguagelearner.com/language-learning-resources/language-specific-resources/bengali-resources/ - want to listen to media in the Bengali language? Want to find Bengali books to read? This website has it all. I would especially recommend the following link: https://dsal.uchicago.edu/digbooks/dig_toc.html?BOOKID=PK1663.D6_1976. It provides a clear and cogent introduction to the Bengali language.


• https://sites.google.com/site/soyouwanttolearnalanguage/bengali - has one of the best conglomeration of Bengali websites of anywhere on the web. I especially like Bengali notes link (https://www.it-c.dk/people/pfw/bengali/), which is simply notes from a Bengali student. The notes have some mistakes, but looking at someone else’s notes is very beneficial.

Now, you may be undecided on whether or not to learn the Bengali Language. It is first important to say on this subject that Bengali is widely spoken in India; in fact, besides Hindi-Urdu, it is the second most spoken language in India. I say this because it is proof that Bengali has speakers outside of Bangladesh. It is also important to say, however, that Bengali uses an alphabet that is rather different from the English alphabet. For example, each consonant has an inherent vowel with different pronunciations. Bengali is also sometimes called one of the more difficult languages for English speakers to learn.

As a side note, if you learn Bengali, you could consider becoming an English to Bengali Translator. Because there are fewer people capable of doing this type of translation, English to Bengali translators are often paid at a higher rate than, say English to Spanish translators or English to French Translators.


Photo Credit: A.K.M. Monjurul Hoque Topu